Signals Over The Air
by the jehsinator
Summary: Spashley, AU.  Ashley, Secret Service agent, is assigned to protect the Secretary of Defense's daughter.
1. Chapter 1

Wednesday mornings are never any fun. I'm staring at the contents inside the dark blue locker--my SIG Sauer P229 in its holster, my belt and my orange cell phone--wondering how I got here.

I should be in the FBI. After all, that was my life's ambition, right? After years of military school, double-majoring at West Point and after learning numerous foreign languages, my badge should be an FBI badge. But it's not.

Instead, I'm a part of the Protective Detail and Counter Assault Team in the United States Secret Service. I'm twenty-five and already on an elite team of law enforcement, I have way more money than any person should, but I'll tell you a secret--my life isn't all that exciting. I mean, yeah, I drive a Porsche every day when most people never get the chance to even sit in one, but a Porsche doesn't love you back. Scratch that, I didn't mean it. Ashley Davies is by no means a softie, got it?

Rather than waste more time staring at my drab locker, I sit down on the hard bench and slide my boot straps over the bottom hems of each pant leg. I push my feet into the black boots I wear everyday and grabbed the laces on the left boot. I strategically wrap them around my fingers and work them into a perfect knot before tucking them out of sight and repeating the task on the right boot. So fucking interesting, I know.

"Davies, you decent in there?" I hear and I look over to the slightly open door to my far right.

"Yeah, Dennison, I'm good," I reply.

Aiden Dennison cautiously sticks his head around the door and nods when I catch his eye. Dennison and I were in the same graduating class at West Point and we've been stuck together since. I graduated as First Captain and he was the quarterback for the Black Knights. He walks over to the bench and ungracefully plops himself next to me. "So, how was your date last night?"

I sigh, stand up, grab my belt out of my locker and say, "uneventful. The girl never shut up. Do me a favor and don't set me up with any more college girls, okay?"

He smiles that stupid little smile and replies, "gotcha. Well,_ I_ had a good night. Apparently, this chick _loves_ showers."

"Spare me the details, Dennison," I say. "What's on the agenda for today?"

"Meeting in Conference Eighteen at 0900 hours," he answers, tapping his fingers along the smooth wood of the bench. "Something to do with the SecDef, I hear."

"It must be related to his plans for Iraq," I state securing my holster to my black belt. "Anything else?"

"I believe that's it; apparently, whatever's going down is priority for our unit," Aiden says while reaching out to straighten my gig line.

"I got it," I say while swatting his hands away. "Oh, do you want to take the four-wheelers up to Kyla's ranch this weekend? We need to do it before it snows."

"Hell yeah, I do! I've been waiting for you to ask," he states with that stupid smile again. "Maybe we can even get Kyla to come out with us."

"Just admit that you're in love with her, Aiden," I say with a grin. Aiden's obsession with my sister is something I often find hilarious.

"Oh, fuck you, Davies," he says as he stands up. "Well, I'm headed to the conference room. Hurry up or your ass is going to be late."

I chuckle as he walks away and as soon as he's out the door, I sit myself back on the bench and rest my head in my hands. I need coffee.

------

I walk into the conference room with my cherished French vanilla coffee and take a seat next to Aiden, who slides me my manila objective folder. Before I can open it, Chief Warrant Officer Andrews opens the door and walks over to the podium stationed at the head of the table. He flips on the projection screen and an image of a blueprint comes to life behind him.

"All right, listen up. Arthur Carlin, the Secretary of Defense, has been receiving death threats directed towards his family. Our assignment is to keep Carlin's family safe until the threat has been eradicated. Open up your folders to the first page," Chief says.

We all do so and I look over the smaller version of the blueprint. There are numerous X's strategically placed all over the grounds and residence.

"Sergeant Davies," Chief addresses and I look up.

"Yes, sir?"

"You're around the youngest Carlin's age, so you'll be her personal detail...and I mean _personal_. Ms. Carlin is a senior at George Washington University and you'll be escorting her wherever she goes. This will require you to be undercover, understood?" Chief says with a smirk on his face.

This man has been tracking Dennison and I since West Point and he likes to bust on us. _Surely_ it's only to make us better soldiers. I'm _sure_ our suffering has nothing to do with his personal amusement.

"Understood, sir," I say.

He continues with, "Dennison, you're assigned to communication duty with Davies. It's very important that you two maintain constant radio contact."

"Yes, sir," Aiden says through gritted teeth while I try as hard as I can to hold back a laugh. Basically, I'm on the front lines while Aiden will be stuck following me around and checking security. Ha.

"The X's on the screen represent where the rest of your unit will be stationed. Unit One will be first shift, Unit Two has second, so on and so forth. You are all to report any suspicious activity and take the appropriate measures to maintain your objective; keeping the Carlin family safe," Chief says.

He goes on to assign numerous other unit members to the rest of the family and stations. I turn to Aiden and smile cockily.

"Oh, please," he whispers. "You only have that assignment because you have a damn vagina."

"Yeah, damn vaginas," I say sarcastically. "Hey, I wonder if 'Ms. Carlin' is hot."

"Probably," he replies in a hushed whisper. "Have you ever seen the SecDef's wife? Total MILF."

I smirk.

"Ha, you couldn't do a thing about it, Davies, unless you want to be reprimanded."

"I can when the assignment's over," I whisper back. Hell, the chance this chick will even swing my way are slim.

"Hey, this might be like really good on paper," Aiden states.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"FBI," he replies with a grin.

Maybe he's right...

"Davies, Dennison, pay attention," the Chief states and we both sit up a bit straighter. "You'll both be staying inside the south wing at the Carlin residence until this assignment's over."

"We can't go home, sir?" Aiden asks.

"No, so I recommend you pack everything you need," is the reply.

Great, there goes my weekend.

"Okay, units, you're all to be in Conference Ten at 1200 hours for official briefing and you are all to report to the Carlin residence at 1700 hours," the Chief says. "Dismissed."


	2. I'm On Fire

Okay, so there will be things in this fic about the military that aren't completely accurate. My siblings are Marines and my mom is retired Special Ops and my dad was in the Secret Service, but even I don't even know what the hell they did exactly, so I'm just adjusting a few things to adapt to the story.

By the way, there's going to be quite a bit of language in here. Ashley and Aiden are in the Army and soldiers cuss like sailors...ha.

Hope you enjoy it.

------

"So, you're lovin' this undercover shit, aren't you?" Aiden asks as we walk down the corridor leading away from the briefing room.

"Hell yeah, I am," I reply. "But I'm a little pissed that this is ruining the weekend."

"Ah, shit, I forgot!" Aiden exclaims, emphasizing with his hands.

"Aw, you don't get to see Kyla," I tease.

"Shut up, Davies. Hey, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?"

Stuffing my face. "Going to Ky's...would you like to come?" I counter.

"Yeah, I would, actually. My parents are going to Toronto this year...don't ask me why though," Dennison answers.

We both reach our respective locker room doors and nod to each other before entering. Aiden and I always do the nod. Tradition is tradition.

------

"So, since I'm the bitch boy on this assignment, you want to buy me dinner tonight?" Aiden asks with his best pouty face from the passenger seat of my Cayenne.

That's right, you are the bitch boy, you...bitch boy.

"I don't know, Aid," I reply. "After squirting soy sauce all over my immaculate interior, I don't think I trust you."

Yeah, my 911 Turbo GT is _still _being detailed. It was _everywhere_.

"That was so not my fault! You know those packets are fuckin' tricky like that!"

Yeah, but four packets? I mean, he has a point, but he will remain unforgiven.

"Okay, okay, I'll buy dinner tonight," I finally state.

I pull up to the gates of the Carlin residence and push the intercom button after rolling down the window. A voice crackles into reality asking who is requesting entry.

"Sergeants Davies and Dennison," I speak.

The gates swing open and after a couple minute drive down a smooth road surrounded by trees, we finally see the house. It's large, not quite a mansion, but impressive none the less. Okay, SecDef's _can't_ make all that much money.

"Damn," Aiden says. "I wonder what the wife does."

Probably the pool boy.

I cruise around the circle drive and park my SUV behind a dark blue Audi. Dennison and I both exit and head to the back to grab our bags.

As we're walking to the door, Aiden asks, "how long do you think this assignment will last?"

"Who knows with these things," I reply as I hit the doorbell. We're pretty early, I only see two black Suburbans parked on the lane off to the side of the house.

The door opens and I nearly drop my bags. Standing before us is a stunning blonde wearing a sports bra and very, very short running shorts. Her hair's up in a perfect ponytail...damn, this girl is gorgeous. God, she's even flustered and sweaty. Aiden's saying something, but I'm not registering it. I'm currently too enthralled by tan, tone thighs and envisioning them wrapped around my wai--

"Davies!"

I snap my head up and realize I'm supposed to be introducing myself. Damn you, bitch boy, thanks for the subtle warning. Hot blonde sticks out her hand and smiles brilliantly. Oh God, am I swooning? Jesus fucking Christ.

"I'm Spencer," she says.

Thank you, God. Sorry about the name in vain thing a second ago...my bad.

"I, uh," I stammer out. Okay, Ash, focus on making words. "I'm Sergeant Davies, but you can call me Ashley."

I drop one of my bags and meet her hand. Fuck, it's smooth.

"Nice to meet you, Ashley," she says, still shaking my hand. "I hear you'll be the one keeping me safe. Is that correct?"

Oh, yes, yes it is, and suddenly I'm completely okay with losing my weekend. "Very correct, ma'am."

"Well, I'll show you two to your rooms," she says and motions for us to follow her.

I pick up my bag and step in the entryway after Aiden. I close the door with my foot and get in step beside Dennison so his big ass isn't blocking my view of Spencer. He nudges me and I look over to him, grinning like the cheshire cat. He laughs softly and I don't see Spencer until I nearly run her over. Yep, I'm a dumb ass.

She nearly falls and I immediately drop my bags to grab her. Reacting on instinct, I catch her arms before she completely loses her balance and pull her into me to maintain my own balance. God, she's been working out but she smells fucking incredible. She's all but four inches from my face and I can't breathe.

"My apologies, Ms. Carlin," I state. She hasn't moved an inch and she's looking me dead in the eye with a little smile on her face.

"It's quite all right," she says. "And please, call me Spencer," she adds softly before stepping away to open the door in front of us.

I'm stuck on the spot and I can tell Aiden is stifling his laughter like the big douche that he is.

"Sergeant Dennison, this is where you'll be staying. Some men were here earlier and they set up some radios and whatnot," Spencer says, nodding toward the table in the corner of the room covered in Aiden's equipment.

"Thank you, Spencer," Aiden says.

"I trust you can take it from here," Spencer says walking to the door. She taps on the plastic intercom receiver and states, "if you need anything, just buzz down to the kitchen and let them know."

She walks past me and tells me to follow. I do as I'm told. What? I'm in the Army, for Christ's sake.

We down the hall a bit and Spencer looks back at me and smiles. I grin and she blushes. Fuck, she's blushing. She stops in front of a door and places her hand on the handle before turning to face me.

"Sergeant Davies, this is your room," she then turns the knobs and the door swings open. I follow her inside and I see that it's a standard guest room but I'm very satisfied with the size of the bed. I place my bags down and she sits in a chair across the room.

"The bathroom is behind this door right here," she says, pointing to a door. She points to another and states, "that's the closet."

"Okay," I reply. "Thank you, Spencer."

"Oh, you're welcome," she says. "So, what is your assignment, exactly?"

I almost forgot that she's an Army brat. "My assignment is to basically be your bodyguard and escort you wherever you go," I answer.

"So, we're stuck together, huh?" Spencer asks, resting her chin on her hand. I nod and she says, "well, let's get to know each other then. Are you originally from the D.C. area?"

I sit on the bed and say, "no, Los Angeles, actually. I was stationed out here after graduating from West Point."

She seems impressed. Yeah, that's right, gorgeous, I'm a bad ass.

"Oh, really?" she asks and I nod. "Were your parents in the military, too?"

"No," I simply reply. "But my mom is the one who put me in military school when I was eight."

"Ah, my mom tried that, but my dad said no, thank God," she says with a slight chuckle.

Suddenly, my only reason for living is seeing her smile. God damnit, why couldn't she be ugly and uninteresting? My job would be so much easier.

"So how old are you?" Spencer asks.

"Twenty-five," I answer. I was briefed on her statistics earlier; she's twenty-three, a senior at GWU, 5'5", really hot...

"Wow, pretty young to be on Secret Service. You must be something special," she says in with a look I can't really decipher.

Holy shit, is she flirting with me? Ah, fuck yes, Davies!

"Oh, I am," I reply, finally getting myself back on my usual track.

"Well, I think I pretty much lucked out on a bodyguard," she states, standing up. "I have a study group at eight at my house, are you 'escorting' me?"

"Yes, ma'am," I reply formally. Someone would have my ass if I was caught talking to her like a civilian.

She smiles that dazzling smile and says, "good. I'm going to take a shower. I'll be down when it's time to leave, okay?"

I nod and she walks out the door.

That girl is beautiful. Like "most beautiful girl I've ever seen" beautiful.

I am officially _fucked_.


	3. A Rush of Blood to the Head

After packing and settling in, I changed from my uniform to a pair of straight leg jeans and a tan PT shirt...most comfortable shirts _ever_. Now, I'm laying on the bed and I'm planning on taking a nap or maybe I could daydream about Spencer in the sho--

Ta-da, Dennison barges into my room.

"Ever heard of knocking, Aiden?" I state, sitting up.

"Well, yeah, but it's just you, Davies," he replies.

"If I had been naked, I would've kicked your ass."

Aiden smiles and says, "if you had been naked, I would have let you."

I shake my head. "What do you want, anyway?"

He throws me an earpiece and a receiver. "Just getting you prepared to take Carlin out," he says.

As if on cue, Spencer walks into my room and looks to me. "Hey, you ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah," I stammer. "I just have to get my holsters on and my earpiece in."

I grab my shoulder holster off the bed and swing it around my back. Once that's secure, I reach for my ankle holster and strap it on my right ankle. I grab my SIG Sauer from from the bed, check the mag and safety and tuck it into the holster on my side and repeat the step with my mini-glock before tucking that into the ankle holster. I put the earpiece in my ear and as Aiden steps behind me to set the receiver, I chance a look at Spencer and she seems somewhat intrigued by our routine.

Now, of course, I don't always need guns. I can kick someone's ass hand-to-hand anytime. I'm one trained motherfucker that you don't want to cross. Dennison, on the hand, is a wuss. Major wuss.

"Ready when you are, gorgeous," I say with a smile. Wait, shit...I said that last bit out loud. I grab my black jacket and throw it on, trying to look as professional as possible.

She blushes and I realize that I am enamored by this girl. Aiden is chuckling behind me so I elbow him before he finishes what he's doing. When he's finished, he walks over to the table to test the equipment.

After that, I say, "all right, so you'll be coming with me, Spencer. Aiden and another member of our unit will be following us in a Suburban."

She smiles. God, she smiles. "Okay. Is it okay if we stop at Starbucks though? I have a feeling I'll be up pretty late tonight."

"Of course, Ms. Carlin," I reply.

------

We exit the house and I lead Spencer in the direction of my Cayenne. We get in and as she's buckling, she asks, "how many Secret Service agents have Porsches?"

"Not many," I say with a laugh.

She nods and tells me the directions to the house she shares with her two best friends, Chelsea and Madison.

"I've never had twenty-four seven detail before," she informs me.

I turn left onto the road after stopping at the gate. "Well, if you get sick of me, I'll understand," I say with a smile.

"_Someone has it bad_," I hear Aiden say through my earpiece.

"Shutith thy mouth, Dennison," I reply.

Spencer gives me a strange look and I say, "I, um, the, uh, earpiece. I can hear Sergeant Dennison."

She chuckles softly and nods her head in understanding.

"_You have it really bad, stutters_," Dennison says with a laugh.

"Well, Sergeant Davies, I have to admit that at this point I don't believe I can get sick of you," Spencer says while looking out the window.

Wha--did my heart just stop? Must have been a palpitation...yeah, palpitation. "Good to hear, Spencer, and please, call me Ashley."

"Okay, Ashley," she says with that dazzling smile.

"Unless there's a CO or Warrant Officer around," I state. "Or I'll be stuck cleaning the head."

I pull into the first Starbucks I see and check my mirrors for Dennison's Suburban. He's right behind us like he should be. I go through the drive-thru and Spencer orders her drink. She's slowly sipping the coffee as we drive and it's fucking adorable.

"So, Spencer," I begin. "What do you do for fun? I mean, what am I in for here?"

"I party," she replies. "We throw a triple kegger every over week at my house."

I am completely caught off guard. Ms. Amazingly Stunning Body over here drinks beer. Instantly I picture a drunken Spencer and I chuckle. Then I picture her crawling up my body and...and I need a cold shower.

A.S.A.P.

"Oh my," I state. "I'm a little surprised, I'll be honest."

The beautiful blonde merely flashes me that gorgeous smile. "I can take care of myself, if that's what you're thinking."

"No, no," I reply. "I didn't mean--uh, well, I didn't assume you couldn't handle, um, yourself or...Yeah, I'm gonna give up on that sentence."

She laughs and I hear Dennison's annoying cackle in my ear. Fucktard can buy his own damn dinner tonight.

"We're actually having a party on Friday," she states. "I've been at my parent's house for the past couple of days; it'll be good to be home. It's a good thing my mother is visiting my brother in Germany or I'd have gone insane."

"Is your brother stationed there?" I ask.

"Yeah, Katterbach," she replies.

"Oh, I've been there," I say. "Rothenberg is my favorite, though."

She looks at me and smiles. "Mine too," she says softly.

"Do you stay at your parent's house often?" I ask.

"Not usually," she responds. "Mostly I'm there to use the weight room, but I'm staying there until this whole thing blows over."

We're at her house before I know it and I pull into the driveway of the two-story home and kill the engine. Aiden parks along the side of the street as I walk around my Porsche to open Spencer's door for her. She exits and thanks me with a kiss on the cheek. I pray that Dennison and Vanichkul didn't see that or I'd be dead.

I follow her to the front door and we enter. I thank God that Dennison and Vanichkul will be staying outside. At least they won't _see_ me make an ass of myself.

Spencer excuses herself to use the bathroom so I seat myself on one of the black leather couches in the living room. An attractive latina walks in from the hallway and I smile at her. She walks over and sits beside me to introduce herself.

"I'm Madison," she says, extending her hand.

"Sergeant Ashley Davies," I reply, shaking her hand.

"Oh, so you're Spencer's protective detail?" She asks.

"That would be me," I say with a nod.

"I bet she doesn't mind that," she says more to herself than me.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, nothing," she replies.

"Okay," I say. "So, Madison, tell me about Spencer."

I know that was kind of forward, but I'm curious.

"Well, she's in her last year at GWU like Chels, our other roommate, and me. Her mother's a bitch and her dad is the sweetest man alive," she says. "She's brilliant and she has a lot going for her."

"I see," I reply. "So, no boyfriend? I mean, I want to know what or who I'll be surrounded by."

"Boyfriend?" Madison says with a laugh. "Girl, please. Spencer's as queer as a three dollar bill."

I try to suppress a smile but it doesn't work very well until I hear Aiden in my ear again.

"_Lucky ass_," he says. "_Guess I won't be hitting that_."

I hear footsteps from the hall and I assume that it's Spencer until a pretty black girl walks into the room.

"Madison," she says. "Have you seen the bag I brought home from Hobby Lobby?"

The girl finally looks up and sees me.

"Oh, wow, I'm sorry, I didn't see you," she says with a sincere smile and walks over to me and extends her hand. As I take it, she says, "I'm Chelsea, Spence's other roomie."

"Nice to meet you, Chelsea," I say as we let go of each other's hands. "I'm Sergeant Ashley Davies."

She nods and says, "well, it's good to meet the person who will be taking care of our best friend. I hope you keep her safe."

"Oh, don't you worry, Chelsea, I'll be taking great care of Spencer," I say honestly.

"Good to know," Spencer says as she steps into the room with a tray. "Well, Ash, Madison and I have to study for a bit. I figured you haven't eaten in a while so I made you and your partners some sandwiches."

"Wow," I say. This girl is fucking perfection. "Thank you, Spencer. I really appreciate it."

I stand up and take the tray from her. The sandwiches look amazing. "I'm going to take some of these out to Dennison and Vanichkul, I'll be right back," I say with a smile.

God, I think I'm in love.


	4. Shake It

It's Friday night and I'm buttoning up my black shirt when there's a soft knock on the door.

"Come in," I say.

Spencer walks in and smiles at me. "Hey, just letting you know I'm ready to go. I'll, uh, I'll wait in the hall."

"No, no," I say. "You can stay in here."

She smiles again and walks over to the bed to sit down. She picks up my book from the nightstand, Chuck Palahniuk's _Survivor_, and says, "oh, I love this book."

"It's my favorite," I say as I finish with the last button. I tuck the shirt into my skinny jeans as I walk over to the bed to grab my shoulder holster. "I really like the way he writes."

"It's amazing, isn't it?" She says with bright eyes. "God, I think I've read this book at least six times."

Have I told you lately how perfect this girl is?

I smile widely at her and she says, "I really like it when your nose crinkles when you smile."

Shit, I didn't realize I gave her one of those smiles.

"Not many people can make me smile like that..."

Damn, I meant to say that in my head.

"Well, I feel honored then," she replies.

"Good," I say as I put my thick black belt through the loops on my jeans. I wonder what Aiden is wearing because we have a bad habit of meeting up and being dressed nearly the same. If he's is even wearing anything remotely close to what I am, I'll ki--God damnit.

The big lummox walks into my room wearing a black button up with dark jeans. He looks at me and before he can say anything, I state, "go change. Now."

"You change," he counters.

"No, you change," I reply.

"You go cha--"

"Dennison, go change your fucking clothes," I say, forgetting Spencer was sitting on the bed.

"Fine," he mumbles before exiting my room.

Spencer has an amused look on her face. "Sorry, we tend to match...often."

"Oh," she says. "So, are you two, um, dating or anything?"

HA.

"Ah, no. I don't exactly play for that team," I state with a wink.

She blushes and looks away and I feel my heart skip a beat.

Aiden enters the room wearing a grey button up with a black jacket like mine. "Better?"

"Much," I say with a smirk.

------

We went over our strategy before leaving for Spencer's house. I'm behind Dennison and Vanichkul in their assigned black Suburban and I'm being followed by an similarly unmarked Grand Prix containing two other members of our unit, Garcia and Parker.

Thank God I get to drive the Cayenne. I mean, yeah, I had to have a radio installed in the dash and had to put a special rack in the back to hold my Remington 870 shotgun and MP5 submachine gun, but I get to drive my baby. Driving this amazing vehicle with this amazing girl next to me makes me realize how much I _love_ being undercover.

I turn into Spencer's driveway while Dennison and Garcia park their respective vehicles. I open Spencer's door for her and I'm once again thanked with a kiss on my cheek.

She has the softest lips and I fight the urge to inhale her perfume.

Garcia and Parker head to the back yard to hold their positions. Vanichkul stays in the Suburban while Dennison and I follow Spencer inside. We all walk into the kitchen where Chelsea and Madison are making what looks like jungle juice. I fuckin' love that shit.

Too bad I can't drink on the job.

"Hey," Spencer's roommates both say when they see us. Both Chelsea and Madison's eyes stop on Aiden and I feel like vomiting. Just...ew.

They all start talking and Spencer gently grabs my arm and leads me away from the kitchen. We walk up the stairs and I follow her into a room to the left. As soon as I step inside I'm hit with Spencer's unique scent and I can't help but deeply inhale. The walls are white with different sized black horizontal stripes and I notice that most of the room is grey, black and white.

"This is my room," she says nonchalantly.

"I like the colors," I say as I sit on her bed. Out of instinct, I scan the room so I'm more aware of my surroundings. I take off my jacket and say, "I love black and white together."

"As do I," Spencer says with her adorable head tilt. She walks over to the closet and swings the doors open. She grabs a grey tank top from the shelf and a light, black jacket. She whips the shirt she's currently wearing over her head and I look away immediately. Well not, _immediately_ immediately, but close. Kind of. I may have had time to see a black lace bra and some skin.

She giggles and out of the corner of my eye I see that she's clothed again.

What a tease.

...Am I really complaining, though? Come on, Ashley.

"I bet Chels and Maddie are falling all over Sergeant Dennison right now," she says as she walks over to her dresser and grabs a pink perfume bottle.

"Yeah, most likely," I respond while watching her.

She sprays her pulse points with the perfume and walks over to the bed to sit beside me.

Jesus, where is that perfume bottled, heaven?

"Paris, actually," Spencer says as she leans back on her elbows.

"I didn't realize I said that out loud," I reply. "I've been having trouble with that lately. So are you...into Dennison, too?" I ask, scuffing my white Vans slip-ons against each other.

I look over to her. "I don't exactly play for that team," she says with a wink.

There's a knock on the door and Chelsea sticks her head inside the room.

"Half an hour 'til showtime," she says before leaning back into the hallway and closing the door.

"Kegs must be here," she states. "I suppose I better go set up for beer pong."

Beer pong? Good God, she's perfect.

------

While Spencer is in the basement doing whatever she needs to do, Dennison and I stand at the front door while he briefs me.

"Okay, Vanichkul and I will be at the door checking IDs. Garcia and Parker have grounds duty. Christianson and Lacey will be relieving them at one AM. You'll be on Spencer all night."

I chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah," he says. "If an attack occurs, you'll grab Cleveland and exit through the back door in the kitchen unless suggested otherwise."

Cleveland is Spencer's code name.

I nod in understanding and then head downstairs to find Spencer. She's standing at the end of a ping pong table setting up cups inside a boundary made of tape.

"Hey you," she says when she notices my presence.

"Hey," I say as I lean on the table. "In the occurance of an attack, we're leaving through the back kitchen door, okay?"

"Okay," she replies as she fixes the last cup.

------

People are everywhere. I'm dying of heat because I can't even unzip my jacket without exposing my weapon and dehydration isn't far behind. I'm watching Spencer dance with some good-looking brunette and I'm not enjoying it. The music has to stay at a certain level so my unit can communicate so at least I'm not going deaf, too.

Chelsea pops up beside me and hands me a cold bottle of water.

"Thank you," I reply, uncapping it and nearly chugging the entire thing.

"That's Amanda," she says, pointing in Spencer's direction. "She's harmless, believe me."

Yeah, well, I don't.

I look over to Spencer and her eyes lock with mine. She's behind _Amanda_, her hands on the girl's hips. The brunette has her head thrown back and her hand in Spencer's hair.

God damnit, Spencer, quit looking at me.

Spencer then whispers in girl's ear and the brunette simply walks away. Then, Spencer is fighting her way through people and heading in my direction. When she makes her way to me, she leans into my ear, the one without my unit on the receiving end, and asks when I'm going to ask her to dance.

"I'm not sure if I can," is my reply.

"You're undercover, right?" She asks, her hands on my hips. I can tell she's drunk by the cloudy look in her usually crystal blue eyes.

"Yeah, gorgeous, I am."

She's drunk but apparently I'm the one without a filter.

"Then dance with me," she says, leaning in and capturing my earlobe between her teeth.

My stomach does backflips and I have to fight to hold back a moan.

"Okay," I breathe out.

She smiles and grabs my hand to lead me to the mass of gyrating bodies in the living room. When she stops, she turns and loosely wraps her arms around my neck.

This isn't helping the heat situation at all. I place my hands on her hips and we start moving to the pulsating beat of _Shake It_ by Metro Station.

This song is quite fitting.

She's getting closer and closer to me so I finally just pull her into me. My brush my cheek with hers and I can smell her perfume mixed with her natural scent and it makes me dizzy.

Jesus, I'm falling hard. It's safe to say I've never felt like this about any of the girls I've dated.

Spencer pulls away completely and I'm confused until she grabs my hand and lead me away again. We walk upstairs and she practically runs to her bedroom door. After pulling me inside, she closes the door and locks it.

Fuck.

She slowly walks over to me and unzips my jacket.

"You must be really hot right now," she says, trying not to slur her speech.

"That's true," I reply.

She pushes the jacket off of my shoulders and she's so close that I nearly forget how to breathe. She undoes the clasp on my shoulder holster and slides it off too. Then she reaches behind me to hit the mute button on my earpiece receiver so I can still hear my unit but they can't hear me.

How did she know how to do that?

I suddenly don't care because she pushes me down onto the bed and then straddles me.

Yes, gorgeous, you can straddle me _anytime_.

She's millimeters away from my mouth. "Spence, you're trashed."

"I know," she breathes. "I usually don't drink."

"Okay," I reply.

"Ashley, I really want to kiss you," she says, not moving an inch. I can feel her breath on my lips and it's driving me the greatest kind of crazy.

That's the alcohol talking, I'm sure.

I can't do this. I shouldn't do this.

"Spence, I can't," I say. "I could get in a lot of troub--"

She clearly doesn't let me finish, but I'm definitely not minding since her lips are sliding deliciously across mine. I feel the strongest pull of desire in the pit of my stomach and I'm pretty sure I'm instantly wet.

God, can she kiss.

Her hands untuck my shirt and she runs her fingers across my abs. I slide my hands across her thighs and when I reach her ass, I squeeze. She grinds down into me while sucking my bottom lip into her mouth and tugging at it.

I think I just died.

I flip her over and she allows my tongue access to her own. She moans deeply as I grind into her. I break away and move to her neck. With the tip of my tongue, I trace a path from her collarbone to her ear and when I pull her earlobe into my mouth, she gasps and her back arches.

Mmm, weak spot numero uno.

My mouth finds her pulse point and her hands weave themselves into my hair.

I hear Dennison talking to Garcia about his shift ending and it hits me. I can't be doing this, no matter how good it feels to kiss her, feel her, taste her...

God damnit.

I pull away, breathing heavily, and she gives me a 'wtf' look.

"I'm sorry, Spencer," I say, getting off of the bed and grabbing my holster and jacket. "I can't, someone could walk in and I'd get in a shit ton of trouble of taking advantage of a drunk girl that I'm supposed to protect from people aiming to do what I just did and--"

"Ashley," she slurs, giggling. "It's okay."

She probably won't even remember this in the morning.

"I probably won't remember this in the morning," she says, sitting up. "But I have to say that you are an amazing kisser, just like I imagined."

With that, she pecks me on the lips and opens her bedroom door, motioning for me to follow.

Wait, just like she imagined?


	5. Arc Lamps and Signal Flares

I have yet to meet the Secretary himself, but Spencer says he's a sweet man and that she doesn't get to see him very often. He's always busy or jetting across the globe.

I can tell it saddens her by the look she has in her eyes when she talks about him.

I bet they were close at one point in time.

She still hasn't mentioned the kiss or even hinted that she remembers.

Damn you, Spencer Carlin, damn you and your beautiful, radiant body.

------

Spencer's in my room talking about books or movies or something. I would know if I could stop focusing on the way her lips are moving and actually listen.

Fuck, I just want to kiss her again.

I just nod and smile instead.

It's only been a week and a half since she kissed me but I'm already head over heels. Let's just say it's pretty easy to always have to be around her.

The threats have become more persistent but so far there's been no action. The Pentagon doesn't seem too concerned, but I know they're not planning on pulling any of the detail units off.

I'm sure as hell not complaining.

"So, um," she begins, "I have plans tomorrow."

"Yeah? What are these plans?" I ask.

"Well, I have a date," she responds.

I try to stop the dejected 'oh' from escaping my lips but it does anyway. This girl's amazing. Of course she has a date.

"Where?" I simply ask, trying to gain my professionalism back.

"The Gerenous George's on Duke Street," she replies. "I love that place."

As do I. Well, at least Dennison and I can eat while she's on her _date_.

Bleh.

Chick better be hot.

------

I'm quiet on the drive through Alexandria. Spencer must notice because she's been trying to get me to talk this entire time.

But I'm in no mood to talk. I'm just not.

It has nothing to do with Spencer's date. Really, I swear.

I mean, she has every right to go out and see people. It's not like she's even into me in the first place. She was just wasted that night. But if I have to take her to some chick's house after dinner and wait while they have "coffee," I'll shoot myself in the face.

Not really, but I'll think about it.

We eventually make it to the restaurant and before I can get out to open her door for her, she's out of the vehicle and walking toward Dennison's Suburban. He rolls down the window and she whispers something in his ear so I don't hear through it my earpiece.

He nods and smiles. What a d-bag.

I finally get out of my Porsche and Spencer flashes me a dazzling smile. I can't help but feel a little better.

"_I'm staying in the truck_," Aiden says.

I shoot him a 'you're seriously making me go in by myself?' look over my shoulder. God, I can't believe him.

"What's wrong, Ash?" Spencer asks as I open the door for her.

"Nothing, Ms. Carlin," I respond.

She nods her head while sporting a frown and I feel terrible. She's being led to a table right away and on our way over, I ask, "you aren't going to wait for your date?"

"No need," Spencer replies.

Okay, I'm confused.

She sits down and thanks the hostess. She shoots me an expectant look and I ask why.

"Ash, don't you get it?"

"Um, no," I slowly answer.

"My date's already here," she says.

"Okay," I reply, my eyes scanning the restaurant.

She must recognize my confused face and she laughs softly. "You're kind of slow tonight, huh? It's you."

Wait, what?

Oh, shit. I feel like the biggest ass right now.

"I couldn't exactly ask you out in front of everyone, so I devised this little plan," she says with a devious smirk after I sit down. "Hopefully, your partners won't tell on you."

"Shit, I'm sorry, Spencer," I say sincerely. "I'll be honest, I was completely jealous and I've kinda been an ass...I'm sorry."

She just smiles in response.

------

"I'm really glad you're the one who has this assignment," Spencer says after a bite of pizza.

"I am too," I say, giving her my best smile.

"I'm also really glad that you're here with me right now," she adds.

"You're amazing, Spence," I counter. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

She blushes and at this moment, I think I'm the happiest I've ever been.

"_LAME, Davies_," I hear Aiden say.

"God damnit, Dennison, can't you go back to pretending you aren't listening?" I whisper.

Spencer laughs and suddenly everything's back to perfect.

"There's another party at my house this weekend," she says, looking me dead in the eye.

I saw it. The little sparkle in her eyes that tells me she remembers.

"Yeah? Well, I suppose I can make time to show up if you want," I tease.

"Oh, you must be so busy these days," she says with a smile. "But if you find the time, please do stop by and dance with me."

"Of course, Ms. Carlin," I reply with a sly smile.

"Tell me about yourself, Ashley," she voices after a few minutes.

"Well, I was born and raised in LA. My dad was always on the road and my mom's a bitch. She sent me to Culver Military Academy in Indiana when I was eight. Um, I graduated from West Point three years ago. I have a sister, well, half-sister, too. Her name is Kyla. She has a ranch in Maryland. It's about three hours away. Dennison and I usually go up there every other weekend."

"You're pretty modest for graduating West Point as First Captain," she says. "And you're definitely not like most kids who have rock star dads."

Wha...how did she know those things?

"My brother went through a hair metal phase when he was thirteen. He _loved_ Purple Venom," she replies. "Oh, you thought you could get away with not telling me your dad is Raife Davies?"

I chuckle and shake my head.

"I have my sources, too, you know," she says with a wink.

"Well, my dad wasn't around much," I state. "I was only home during the holidays and if he was home too, he was always out on the Strip partying. He loved me, but his lifestyle was everything to him."

"I'm sorry, Ash," she responds, placing her hand on top of mine. "It still must have been hard when he passed away."

"It was," I say quietly.

I'm strangely comfortable having this conversation with her.

"And you, Spencer? Tell me about your life," I say, changing the subject.

"Well, I'm majoring in Poli/Sci and minoring in German," she says casually.

German? Mmm, hot.

"I have a brother, Glenn, who's twenty-five. He's stationed in Katterbach, Germany. That's where my mom is right now, thank God," she states.

"Do you not get along with your mom?" I ask.

"_She's a MILF!" _I hear Dennison say in my ear.

I reach around my back and hit the mute button on my receiver as she responds with, "no. She's a bitch."

She smiles when I laugh.

I'm totally falling in love.

------

What a night.

I sportin' the perma-grin right now. I can't help it...Spencer's fucking amazing.

We're driving back when Dennison says, "_Davies, we're being followed by two Crown Vic's--one maroon, one black. They've been on us since the restaurant. I'm calling for back-up. Take the next lef_--_**fuck**_!"

I look back to see the Suburban swerving wildly. Then I see the cause--the black Crown Vic is ramming his SUV. I punch the gas as I see the maroon Ford careen around the other two vehicles and try to catch up to us. Aiden side swipes the maroon car, but it's only momentarily thrown off course until it accelerates past the SUV.

"Ash, what's going on?" Spencer asks shakily.

"Hold on, Spence," I say as I weave through traffic.

I look back in time to see Dennison's Suburban slam into a parked vehicle and the black Crown Vic spins out into oncoming traffic. I don't see the other Ford until its headlights come into view of the side mirror from directly behind us. It slams into the back of my Cayenne and Spencer screams. I swerve around a parked taxi at the last minute and I look in my overhead mirror only to see the Crown Vic barely miss it.

I nearly tip the Cayenne making a last second right turn and I can tell that Spencer's pretty freaked out.

"Hey, it's going to be all right, Spence," I say as she looks over to me. "I'll die before I let someone hurt you."

I fly through a red light at an intersection and my dash mounted radio crackles to life.

"Davies, what the hell is going on out there?!" I hear.

I grab it and say, "I'm being pursued by a late model maroon Crown Victoria. Requesting back-up. Dennison and Vanichkul are down near Lincoln and Euclid--"

Before I can finish, the Crown Vic PITs my Cayenne despite my evasive driving and when we spin out, all I can hear is Spencer screaming and then safety glass shattering and crunching metal as my SUV flips on the driver's side. We roll twice and I'm grateful when we land on the wheels. I can feel the glass in my face and arm but I'm far more worried about Spence and the Crown Vic. I see that after it hit us, it plowed into a median. I look over to the blonde, trying to see her through the thick dust from the airbags, and notice her hand is bleeding but I don't see any major injuries.

I both praise and curse whoever that this isn't a busy street.

I grab my radio from by my feet and hand it to her. "Call for back-up and an ambulance. I'll be right back, okay, Spence?"

She nods, so I force my door open and step out on unsteady legs. I draw my SIG from inside my jacket and slowly approach the maroon Ford. I look inside but don't see anyone.

Right now, it's way too quiet.

I look back to my destroyed Porsche and see a man bringing a shotgun level with Spencer's door. I don't bother calling out a warning to him before I open fire.


	6. Sowing Season

He goes down as the first bullet I fired tears through the left side of his back. I don't think twice about putting another one through his chest as he hits the ground.

I slowly approach the man as I scan my surroundings with my peripheral vision. There must have been another person in that car; both front doors were open.

That's when I see him, or his feet, rather; he's crouched in front of the hissing engine. As I approach, he stands but I put a round right between his eyes before he can even think about pulling his gun's trigger.

I check the pulse of the first man I shot and only find a lack of one. I kick his shotgun away anyway.

I don't bother checking the second guy. I tuck my SIG back into its holster as I hear the sirens approaching and see the red-and-blues in the distance.

I walk up to Spencer's window and look inside. She's crying but she's not seriously injured. She sees me and tries to open her door but is unsuccessful. I try too but it still doesn't budge, so she crawls over the center console to exit through the driver's side. I meet her halfway around the back of the totaled vehicle and I instantly pull her to my chest as she sobs.

Her arms are tucked between our chests as I whisper, "it's gonna be all right, gorgeous, they can't hurt you."

I press a kiss into her temple before pulling my jacket off and wrapping it around her shoulders.

What was a calm, unusually warm November night just became a nightmare.

The memory of watching Dennison's Suburban crash keeps playing in my mind. God, let him be okay.

Within a matter of minutes, the local police are all over. They're taking Spencer's statement right now and she keeps looking over to me. Dennison and Vanichkul step out of a cruiser that just pulled up and Dennison heads my way.

"Ashley," he says, pulling me into a hug. "Thank God you're all right. I was so fucking worried."

"Jesus, Aid, I was scared to death that you weren't okay," I reply into his chest.

"What happened?" Aiden asks, pulling back and looking over to the white sheets on the ground currently surrounded by officers, then to my SUV.

"They PIT manuveured me and I spun out and flipped it," I state. "I shot them before they could get to Spencer."

I'm suddenly swarmed by paramedics as they look over my wounds and check for a concussion, which is totally unnecessary. All right, I suppose there is blood running down my face and arm, but I'm fine. I'm led to the back of an ambulance, but I don't mind because it brings me much closer to Spencer.

"...and that's when Sergeant Davies shot him..."

I cringe a little. Spencer had to watch me shoot two people to death.

An EMT is saying that I don't have a concussion but that I need stitches. I don't care, I just tell them to give me the stitches now.

"Are you sure?" The man asks.

"Yeah," I say, irritated. "Just fucking do it."

------

I finally walk into my room around two AM. I strip off my clothes with a heavy sigh and head for the shower.

The water's hot and it causes my cuts to sting. I run my fingers over the exposed stiches on my forehead and fight the urge to cry. Spencer's life was two seconds away from being taken from her, and that's two too many seconds for my liking. I realize the incredible seriousness of the situation and I promise myself that no one's ever going to have the chance to hurt her again, even if I die trying.

I fell in love when I was sixteen, or so I thought until now. It dawns on me that what I had with Morgan was nowhere near what I already have with Spencer.

Fuck, I'm in deep, huh?

I turn the shower off and when I finish drying my body, I walk into my room to throw a tan uniform shirt and my favorite soccer shorts on. I lay down on the bed and turn the TV on. CNN soon becomes the current channel as usual.

"...the two unidentified suspects were gunned down by a Secret Service agent whose identity also remains unknown..."

Just then, my orange enV comes to life with Kyla's ringtone.

I answer with an, "I'm okay, Ky."

"_Jesus, Ash, it's all over the news. Liz called and told me and I didn't know if it was you or not and I was freaked out_--"

"Kyla, Aiden and I are all right, just a little sore and stiff," I reply.

"_Thank God_," she says. "_I was really worried, sis_."

I smile at my sister's honesty. There was a time when we couldn't even bring ourselves to speak to each other.

There's a soft knock on my door and Spencer walks in.

"Ky, I have to go. I promise I'll call tomorrow, okay?" I say into the receiver. I hang up after her response.

Spencer's now standing by the edge of my bed, playing with the hem of her shirt nervously.

"Are you okay, Spence?" I ask.

She's a little bruised here and there, small cuts checker her face and arms and her hand is bandaged, but she's looking radiant as usual.

She looks up to me and says, "I, um, I couldn't sleep."

I smile softly and lift up the covers. She smiles back and crawls into my bed. I mute the TV, scoot down and invite her into my arms. She lays her head on my chest and drapes an arm across my stomach. I'm amazed by how well she fits into my body.

I pull her closer and run my fingertips across her forearm. I press a kiss onto her forehead and say, "no one's going to hurt you. I promise."

She pulls back to look at me and I take the opportunity to run my fingers through her hair. "You're so beautiful, Spencer, you know that?"

She blushes and tries to bury her face into my neck. "Like you're one to talk, Ash," she whispers.

It's then that she runs her hand over the exposed skin of my stomach and she giggles when the muscles there contract involuntarily.

Good God, I didn't know that she could turn me on so easily. Okay, so I did, but still, the way she's tracing her fingertips over the small tattoo she finds is like an insta-turn-on.

"Kyla and I have the same one," I say before she voices the question I know is running through her mind.

She nods into my neck. "I'm really sore," she says.

"I take it you've never been in a car accident before?"

She moves to rest on her elbow and I'm already missing her warmth. She shakes her head.

"We were really lucky, Spence," I whisper, running my thumb across her cheek and down to her chin.

"Ash," she begins quietly, "you saved my life today...and I'm very grateful for that."

I smile. "I was just protecting you, babe, and I'll do that whether I'm assigned to do it or not."

She leans down and I'm stunned when she places a soft, but lingering kiss on my lips.

"Thank you," she says before laying her head on my chest again. About ten minutes later, her even breathing lets me know she's asleep.

When she crawls into my bed again the next night and the night after that, I don't object.


	7. At This Velocity

"The men Sergeant Davies killed have been identified," the Chief begins. "Their names were David Yoder and Adam Burgeon. These men were affiliates with an unnamed American terrorist group. The FBI is looking into the incident and they're going to keep us informed. You'll find all you need to know in your updated case files."

We all reach for our designated folders.

I'm reading the beginning of mine when the Chief says, "Davies, Dennison and Vanichkul, you're all getting a week off to recover. Enjoy your Thanksgiving."

Wait, what? An entire week? Who's going to protect Spencer?

"Don't worry, soldiers, Ms. Carlin will be escorted by the other members of your unit," he adds.

God, can I not accept a vacation?

"Chief, I'm fine, I don't need time off," I protest.

"Davies, you're doing it whether you like it or not."

Yeah, that's the end of that. Chief gets what he wants.

------

I come back from my briefing and collapse into bed.

Time for a much needed napski. Yeah, napski. Dennison and I once had a bad habit of adding '-ski' to the end of most words.

Hey, it was better that when added '-er' to the end of every word.

But I still call Aiden's Grand Prix the 'Prixer.'

It makes it so much cooler.

Plus, he wasn't down for 'the Lamborgreeni.' It's not my fault he has a green car.

I feel sleep tugging at my brain and I finally just give in.

I wake up to small kisses on the side of my neck and then hands that are about as cold as death creeping up my abdomen under my shirt. I shoot up immediately and Spencer merely giggles.

She's sneaky when she wants to be.

"How'd your meeting go?" She asks.

"Okay," I say with a smile. "Your hands are fucking freezing."

"Are they?" She says, acting surprised. "I suppose you would hate it if I did this then, huh?" She whispers as she runs her ice hands all over my stomach.

I squirm and fight, but she somehow ends up pinning my hands above my head. I push up slightly, but she keeps a firm hold.

She leans in close enough to me that our noses rub and whispers, "you like being in control, huh?"

I'm captivated, so I just slowly nod.

Her lips brush against mine as she breathes, "you drive me crazy in the best ways, Ashley Davies, and I absolutely love it."

"God, me too," I whisper back before she kisses me forcefully.

My stomach seems to be doing backflips. No one's ever kissed me like this...well, with the exception of the last time we kissed. Her lips are soft and they connect with mine in the most amazing way possible.

She pulls my bottom lip between hers and sucks slightly.

I seriously have no power over the noises I'm making in response.

She finally releases my hands and they're instantly on her as she shifts away from my mouth. I'm disappointed until I feel her breath against the shell of my ear.

"You're so sexy, you know that?" She whispers and my hips unvoluntarily shift as her lips brush against the shell of my ear.

"Not like you," I breathe out as she kisses my neck.

If this is a dream, I'm going to be pissed.

I run my hands under her shirt and up her sides. I feel her shiver in response and I finally realize just how wet I am.

She bites my skin gently and I finally give up on fighting the moans.

I'm about to flip her over when I hear a knock on the door. Spencer pulls back and looks at me wide-eyed.

"Shit, shit, shit," I say as she climbs off of me and whispers that she's going into the bathroom.

I nod as I straighten myself up. I walk over to the door and as reaching to open it, Aiden opens it and the dark wood hits me squarely in the face.

I rub my forehead as I reach up and smack him on the back of the head.

"Jesus, sorry Davies," he says.

"What do you want, Dennison?" I growl out.

He chuckles as his gaze falls to my neck.

"Shit, do I have a hickie?" I quickly ask.

"No, just some lip gloss," he says with a laugh.

I wipe my neck with my left hand and stare pointedly at him.

"I was just seeing what kind of pizza you wanted," he says.

"Supreme," I tell him as I walk over to the bed and sit down.

"Good," he replies, pulling out his phone. "I'll let you know when it's here."

I nod and as soon as the door's closed, Spencer walks out of the bathroom with a huge ass smile on her face.

I can't help but smile back. "Close call, huh?"

"Yeah," she says, smile still in place. "I have to meet Maddie for dinner, but I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay," I state and she places a soft kiss on my lips before beginning to walk away. "Wait, Spence."

She turns and looks at me, waiting for me to continue.

"They're making Aiden and I take a week off," I say.

I feel terrible as I see her soft smile become a frown.

"We're going to Maryland to spend the week with Kyla, but I'll call everyday," I say. "I mean, if you want me to."

Her smile's back, thank God. "I'd really like it if you did," she says before opening the door and stepping out.

------

I really hope Spencer crawls into my bed tonight.

Does that make me needy? Honestly, it's only because she's always warm.

I mean, she also happens to smell like perfection and she likes to run her amazing fingers all over my skin.

I turn on Modern Marvels and lay back in my bed.

The next thing I know, I'm opening my eyes to see a sexy as fuck blonde straddling my waist and playing with the hem of my t-shirt.

Must've fallen asleep...the History Channel always fuckin' does that to me.

"Miss me?" She asks with a shy smile.

"Mmhmm," I reply, my hands finding her thighs.

"How was your pizza?" She asks, her fingers tracing random patterns on my stomach.

"Delicious," I reply.

"And how was your company?"

"Terrible," I respond with a smile.

"I figured," she replies. "I'm tired."

I motion for her to lay down and she moves so she's laying beside me with her head in the crook of my neck.

There's nothing like falling asleep like this.


	8. A Minor Detail

**This is probably going to be extremely fluffy.**

**I'm in that mood because I might be a **_**little**_** stoned.**

**Ha, sorry.**

------

I wake up when Spencer crawls out of my bed and heads into the bathroom.

I roll over onto my stomach and when she comes out, she walks over to the bed and straddles my ass. I'm about to complain about it not being the side I want her to straddle until she lifts up my shirt and starts massaging my back.

Sweet _Jesus_.

"So when are you leaving?" She asks.

"Tomorrow at noon," I reply, trying to steady my heavy breathing.

"And you're officially off-duty right now?"

"Mmhmm," I answer as she traces my other tattoo.

She leans down and whispers in my ear, "so that means you can come to my party tonight?"

Shit, today's Friday...I totally forgot about her party.

She lets me flip over and I place my hands on her hips. "I'd like to..."

"There's a 'but,' huh?"

I slide my thumbs under her shirt to caress her stomach. "I could get in trouble." She looks heartbroken...damnit. "But you know what? There's only five more months on my contract and I don't plan on re-enlisting...so why not, beautiful?"

"Ash, I don't want you to get in trouble," she says, grabbing my hands and threading our fingers together.

"I'm not too concerned, Spence. I won't be on duty. The worst thing that can happen is someone finding out about us," I reply.

"Still, Ash. I mean, I really want you there, but is it really worth the risk?"

I smile. "Yeah, gorgeous. You're always going to be worth the risk."

------

I get in the driver's seat of Spencer's blue Audi A6 sedan and she smiles at me from the passenger seat.

"Thanks for driving. I'm still a little shaken up from...you know," she says shyly.

"No problem, gorgeous," I say, flashing her a bright smile and turning the ignition key. "This is a nice car."

"Thanks, my mom bought it for me. Kind of a 'sorry' for not being a wench all of my life, I think," she responds.

"I'm sorry, Spence," I say, reaching over to take her hand as we coast down the long drive.

"Don't be," she replies. "My mom has always been all about my brother, but my dad has always been there for me when I needed him, even though he's extremely busy these days."

"Maybe that'll change one day," I say, noting the sadness on her face.

"Hopefully," she responds. "You look really nice, by the way."

I went all out tonight. Instead of my usual straight leg jeans and uniform undershirt, I'm wearing a skirt and a black vest with a pink and black bra underneath. I wanted to be sure that Spencer would be all over me.

I know, I'm a terrible person.

"Thank you," I say, squeezing her hand. "You look amazing as usual."

------

A couple hours later I'm standing in the kitchen refilling my cup with jungle juice.

Madison walks in and I hand her the ladle for the giant bowl.

"Girl, Spencer won't shut up about how hot you look," she says. "She usually doesn't drink this much. I think you make her nervous."

Oh.

"Is that bad?" I ask, sipping from my cup.

"Not necessarily. It's just that I've never met anyone that makes her nervous," Madison says, moving to lean against the counter next to me. "She really likes you. She never shuts up about it. I just want you to know that I'm glad she found you."

God, why are my eyes burning? Oh, no, I am _not_ crying. What the fuck. I shift my eyes to the floor and say, "Thank you. I really like her. She's...something incredible."

"Oh, and if you hurt her, you die," Madison says with a smile.

"Gotcha," I reply with a laugh, even though I think she's serious.

I chug the rest of my drink and then grab a Triple Black from the sink, which is currently stocked with all kinds of Queernoff and ice.

Hey, I know Smirnoff is a pussy drink, but have you honestly ever tasted a Triple Black? It's like a mouth orgasm.

Spencer walks into the kitchen and I take my chance to show off. I place the top of the bottle on the underside of my forearm and twist off the cap.

"Whoa," Spencer says evenly. "How did you do that?"

"You can't tell me you've honestly never seen anyone do that," I reply, trying to be smooth.

"I haven't," she says, throwing her cup away and grabbing a Triple Black from the sink. "Teach me how!"

I put my bottle on the counter and take her arm into my hands. I put it in the correct position along with the bottle.

"Okay, so just apply pressure with your arm and twist the bottle," I say, mocking the motions.

She gets it on the first try...that's my girl.

She beams at me and I do it right back. But then she pouts and says, "now my arm is sore."

I take said arm and place a kiss the reddened spot.

"Better?"

"Much," she says. She wraps her arms around my neck and I pull her hips into me. She kisses my neck softly and I sigh. "My room?"

God yes.

"I'm down," I reply, grabbing my drink and following her.

------

I lean back against the headboard and she sits in between my legs and settles her back against my chest.

I lay my head on her shoulder, facing her neck, and say, "you always smell so incredible, you know that?"

So I have a thing for scents.

You would too if every time you climbed into bed, you were surrounded by her scent even if she wasn't there.

"Well, want to know my secret? I shower," she whispers.

She leans her head back on my shoulder as I take a swig from my bottle. As I put it down and from the corner of my eye, I can see she's taking in my profile.

"You're really beautiful, Ash," she breathes.

"Not like you, Spence," I say, looking her in the eye while running my right hand through her hair.

She closes her eyes and then her phone comes to life on the nightstand next to us. I hand it to her and she reads the text.

"We're up in beer pong," she says. She kisses my cheek and stands up.

I stand up and finish my drink. I throw the bottle in the trash and she turns around. All of a sudden she has my face in her hands and her lips pressed to mine.

I moan as we fall back down to the bed. She moves her legs so she's straddling me and I swear I'll never get tired of that.

God, she fucking kisses like fire...if that makes sense.

Her phone beeps again and she pulls away, breathing hard.

"I'm sorry," she says with a blush.

"God, don't be," I breathe out with a smile.

------

"So you know how to play?" Spencer asks, placing a ping pong ball in my hand.

"Are you kidding?" I say as I look her dead in the eye and shoot the ball. I hear the familiar sound of it meeting the inside of a cup.

Her mouth drops as she looks from me to the other side of the table, where the two guys we're playing have worried looks on their faces.

"Seriously," the shorter guy says to the other as he takes the cup from the triangle. "I thought you said playing against girls would be easy."

"I thought it would," the taller one replies.

I look at Spencer and smirk. She kisses me before turning and throwing the ball perfectly. It sinks into the first cup and she throws her arms into the air and sings along with Nelly Furtado's _Say It Right_.

"Bring 'em back, boys," I say while wrapping an arm around Spencer's waist and pulling her into me.

"God damnit," the taller guy says while they bounce the balls back to us.

I launch the ball and it goes into the center cup. Spencer misses, but I kiss her anyway.

About five minutes later, we only have one cup left to hit and the guys, who I've found out are Ryan and Shep, have only hit three.

Spencer throws first and I watch as it goes in the cup. She throws her arms up in victory again as I make the cup too, finishing the game.

"Okay, from now on, you are always my partner," Spencer says into my ear, trying to be heard over the loud music. "Chelsea doesn't drink beer and Madison is fucking _terrible_."

"Alright, baby," I say back.

Ah, shit. I said 'baby.' I hope she doesn't think it's too soon for that...

She smiles and pulls me in for a heated kiss. We finally stop when we hear, "god, it's so worth losing as long as we get to see that."

I pull away laughing and our next opponents step up to the table. I look up and see it's Dennison and Madison.

"Aiden? When did you get here?" I ask, walking over to him to give him a hug.

"About five minutes ago," he replies. "Spencer invited me."

"I wanted it to be a surprise," she says from next to me.

"Well, thank you, gorgeous," I say, kissing her on the cheek. "Okay, Dennison, are you ready to be dominated?"

"Bring it on, Davies!" He yells, throwing me two Coors Lights for our side.

I pour the beer into the cups and let Spencer go first. She hits a cup in the second row and I hit the one directly next to it.

"Ah, shit, I totally forgot how good you are at this," Aiden says.

"What's that? I didn't hear you," I reply, cupping my ear with my hand for added effect.

"Oh, shut up, Ash," he laughs.

Once we have the balls back, Spencer misses but I make up for it with a bounce. She bites my neck in appreciation.

Good _God_.

Madison misses but Aiden hits a bounce while Spencer is working on my neck.

"Damn it, Aiden!" I yell, grabbing two cups.

"How did that feel, _Deflector_?" He says with faux cockiness.

Usually Aiden and I are partners, and the squad nicknamed me 'the Deflector' because no one can make a bounce against me. I swat that shit without any hesitance. I'm amazing like that.

"Alright, Spence, let's do this," I reply.

I throw the ball and hit the lone first cup. She sinks hers and I kiss her in congratulations.

_Jude Law and A Semester Abroad _by Brand New suddenly comes through the speakers and Aiden and I lock eyes before busting out in song.

What? This is our jam for our drunken, late-night runs to T-Bell.

Yeah, _jam_.

Besides, I'm a little schwasted. Just a little.

I mean, I can still see straight.

Spencer and Madison give each other looks before they join in with us. Soon, the entire group of people in the basement is singing along.

Come on, everyone knows and loves Brand New.

I pull Spencer into me as we all dance around with our drinks held high the air. We both look at each other and sing as loud as we can.

It's little moments like this that make me think that I'm in love.

In love with the way she tilts her head, how she breathes when she's asleep, how she brushes her nose along my jaw and pulls away giggling, the way she talks about how corporate the world is, how McMahon, Lacey and Spektor are her favorite song writers, the way she looks at me, and the kisses. God, the kisses.

When the song ends, we all make our way back over to the table laughing.

"Hey, Ash, do you remember the time we went to Burger King when we all fucking hammered?" Aiden says, barely containing his laughter.

"Aiden, don't even start," I warn.

"No, no, Madison, Spencer, listen to this. So one night we're at Kyla's--"

"Dennison!" I warn again.

"Oh, _shutith thy mouth, _Davies."

That's so my fucking phrase.

"So me, Ash and my little brother Josh had been taking tequila shots all night. Kyla's mostly sober so she offers to drive us to Burger King. So we get there and Ash orders a Whopper Junior with extra pickles. We get the food and we all check our shit while still sitting at the window. Well, apparently, they forgot Ashley's pickles entirely. So she grabs her drink, rolls down the window and knocks on the drive-thru window. When they open it, she screams, 'you forgot my fucking pickles!' and launches her cup at the guy. It hits him directly in the face and explodes," Aiden finishes and everyone's laughing.

I am too, I won't lie. "I was pissed!" I say in my defense.

"So Kyla freaks out and hits the gas. She totally jumps the curb and ends up doing a donut on Burger King's lawn. We're all thinking that we're going to end up in jail but we somehow made it home," Dennison says, trying to catch his breath from laughing so hard.

Spencer is leaning on the table, shaking with laughter. "Okay, I so have to meet your sister."

"You will, babe," I reply.

She smiles at me as if she's telling me when her manner that she wants to know everything about me.

Every story and event that shaped me into the person that's standing in front of her.

Every way to ever feel me.

And she knows I feel the same.

And I've never felt so brilliantly enlightened.

After a quarter-century, I _know_. I know the love people only talk about. I know the love every song's secretly about. I know what it's like for someone to _always_ be on your mind.

It's like I finally _understand_.

_I'm in love with Spencer Carlin._


	9. Hear You Me

After dominating another three games of beer pong, a game of Kings and a couple Table Throwers, Spencer and I stumbled our way back upstairs and into the living room.

Okay, 'stumbled' is probably the wrong thing to say. It's more like I'm carrying Spencer and trying to see straight at the same time.

Garcia, who is currently filling my position, looks at me and shakes his head with a smile. I give him a thumbs up as Spencer leans in to kiss my cheek.

I open the door to her bedroom and lay her down on the bed. I close the door and then stand at the edge of the bed, grabbing her calves to take her shoes off. As soon as that's done, she sits up and I help her take her shirt off.

God, I love black bras.

I place my hands at the top of her jeans and look up for confirmation. She nods so I unbutton the jeans and then begin slowly pulling them down her legs.

God, I love black thongs.

Too bad this isn't going where I want it to. I can't take advantage of her. I want our first time to be special, you know?

I'm such a fucking sap. I'm going to go ahead and blame it on my drunkeness.

I walk over to her dresser and pull out two pairs of boxers and two tank tops. I sit her up and guide her arms into the shirt and move down to do the same for her legs.

Once she's settled under the covers, I change into a pair of green American Eagle boxers (they're comfy as fucking hell, too) and a grey tank top.

I then slide myself under the covers and turn off the lamp.

Spencer immediately curls into my body and I pull her closer with the arm I have wrapped around her.

"I'm beginning to wonder if I can sleep without you, Ash," she whispers.

"I am, too, beautiful," I whisper back.

"I'm glad you came tonight," she says, her breaths ghosting across my neck. "I haven't had this much fun in a long time."

I kiss her forehead in response.

"Tell me about your ambitions," she says quietly.

"I want to be out of the military," I reply. "One of these days, I want to be in the FBI...or maybe make some documentaries. I want a family to come home to. I want...I want a extraordinary life just like everyone else."

"But you're not like everyone else," she responds.

"What do you mean?"

"You're so damn much more than every person I've ever met. You're amazing, Ash," she says as her hand slips under my shirt to trace random patterns on my skin.

"I don't think you realize how incredible you are," I whisper.

"I've never felt like this."

"Neither have I, Spence."

She sighs and says, "I don't want to be without you for a week."

This makes me smile. "You don't have to, baby. I called Kyla earlier and convinced her to come here instead."

She lifts her head to look at me and says, "I thought you and Aiden were looking forward to being away from the city?"

"That's something we can do whenever. He doesn't care as long as he gets to see Kyla," I say with a chuckle.

She smiles and leans in to kiss my neck. "So, we can hang out all week?"

"Mmhmm."

"And I get to meet your sister?"

"Mmhmm."

"Sounds amazing," she whispers. "My dad and I are volunteering at a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving like we do every year. I forgot to tell you that."

"Want any help?"

"No, baby, enjoy your Thanksgiving with your family. I'll come see you when it's done."

"Good deal," I reply. "Homeless people kind of scare me anyway."


	10. Hey Baby, Don't You Know?

Sorry, guys. The past few months have been extremely shitty for the jessinator.

By the way, one thing you'll notice in my fic is I reference Something Corporate quite often. I can't help myself.

------

I open my eyes and it takes a second for me to remember that I'm in Spencer's room.

I turn over, wrap my arm around her waist and pull her back into me.

She mumbles something but I can't tell what the hell she said.

"Hmm?"

"You're warm," she whispers into her pillow. "It's nice."

I gently kiss the back of her neck and smile. She turns around to face me and smiles back as she reaches out to put a hand on my cheek.

"You're beautiful," I say as I lean in to kiss the spot behind her ear.

I pull back and notice she's blushing.

God, who knew blushing could be sexy?

It's a perfect moment until my stomach grumbles. Spencer giggles, gives me a chaste kiss and practically leaps out of the bed.

"Come on, get dressed. I'll make breakfast," she states.

I'm down.

------

I'm sitting in Spencer's living room conversing with Madison and Chelsea while Spencer takes a shower and gets ready.

"I am _never_ playing you and Spencer in beer pong again," Madison says. "God, if I hadn't made Aiden drink all the beer, I would have been _extremely_ fucked up."

"Those guys you played first were complaining all night," Chelsea says with a laugh.

"I'll play left handed next time, Madison," I tell her with a smile. "But I'll warn you, when I heat up, it doesn't matter what hand I throw with. I have deadly aim."

Just then, Spencer walks into the room and I can't hold back my grin.

"Ready to go, beautiful?" I ask.

"Mmhmm," she replies.

We walk out to her Audi and head towards my house.

"What's your favorite band?" Spencer asks as we pull up to a red light.

"I'd have to say...either Circa Survive or Something Corporate," I reply. "Oh, and I'm totally in love with Hidden In Plain View."

She smiles at me as she grabs her cd case from the backseat. She pulls out a blue cd and pushes it into the cd player.

Something Corporate's _As You Sleep_ comes to life from the speakers.

"This is my favorite album of all time," she states.

Mm, life just keeps getting better and better.

Suddenly, my cell phone starts vibrating.

_I'll be at your house in about an hour, _the text from Kyla reads.

"Oh, so are you ready to meet my sister?" I ask.

"I am! I'm so excited," she says with a beaming smile.

"She can be a handful, I'll warn you now," I reply.

------

I turn into my driveway and kill the ignition.

"So, this is my place," I state, watching as Garcia parks the Suburban along the curb.

We both exit the car and I grab her hand as we walk to the door.

I unlock the door and we step inside.

I watch her as her eyes travel around the parlor.

"Wow," she says as I lead toward the stairs.

She stops abruptly by the glass cage by the stairs.

"Oh my God," she states. "You have a snake?"

I laugh and say, "yep. His name's Knuckles. Do you want to hold him?"

Her face pales.

"I don't think he's eaten in a few days...I can't recall which days Helena comes by. But I bet he won't bite you," I tease.

"I'll pass," she says slowly as she gazes down at the yellow snake.

"Are you sure?" I ask with a smile.

She tightens her grip on my hand and says, "how about you show me your bedroom?"

She doesn't have to ask me twice.

I let go of her hand and sweep her into my arms, turning to the steps and taking two at a time.

So I like to show off. No crime in that.

I walk into my room and lay her down on the large bed.

God, it feels damn good to be home.

It also feels damn good when she grabs my face and meets my lips.

She tastes like vanilla mint and I couldn't be any happier.

Well, that's what I thought until she started tugging on the hem of my shirt.

I sit up and it's gone in no time.

She runs her hands all over my abs as she sits up and I pull her shirt off with skill.

Hey, now, I know this whole obsession/love thing is kinda new to me, but I know what I'm doing here.

I've had my fair share of sex, although I must say Spencer's the first girl to ever turn me on like this.

My thoughts are cut off when I lean into her and our skin makes contact.

Her hands are pushing at the small of my back, making us impossibly close.

She moans when I nip at her pulse point and her body arches into me as I caress the skin below her bra with my thumbs.

"Ash," she pants.

"Mm?" I reply from her neck.

She tries to speak again but she fails miserably as my fingers tease her left nipple through her bra.

She pulls my face back to hers and kisses me deeply as she struggles to hold back her moans.

God, the moans.

Sexiest fucking thing I've _ever _heard.

I start reaching around her back to undo her bra when I hear the front door slam.

God. Damnit.


End file.
